Deadly Greenwich drug deal leads to prison for New Yorker

Updated 9:08 pm, Saturday, June 3, 2017

HARTFORD-A New Yorker who sold a deadly batch of heroin Dec. 7, 2015 to a 26-year-old Greenwich man will be spending 16 months in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea imposed the term on Isaiah Hart, 22, of the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Once released from prison he must spend three years being supervised by the U.S. Probation Department as well as perform 96 hours of community service.

Hart who had been free on bond was taken into custody immediately.

He pleaded guilty on Feb. 21, 2017 to a charge of conspiring to distribute heroin.

Additionally Hart has related drug charges pending in Brooklyn stemming from his selling heroin, in similar Emerald City-stamped bags to to an undercover law enforcement officer on December 8, 2015. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5 in King’s Country Supreme Court in Brooklyn and is expected to receive a two-year sentence.

The Greenwich male was found dead in his home on Dec. 8, 2015 by Greenwich police and emergency responders. Several packets of Emerald City stamped heroin were found nearby.

The police investigation determined that the victim responded to a Craigslist ad offering dog food for sale. He arranged a purchase of 20 bags of heroin for $185 in New York. The heroin was delivered by Hart.

Assistant U.S. Public Defender Kelly Barrett pointed out that Hart grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant which has a “high rate of violent crime.”

She noted that in 2010 there were 12 murders, 29 rapes, 433 robberies, 422 assaults, 408 burglaries and 119 auto thefts. She also noted that 49 percent of the project’s residents 16 and older are unemployed.

“Although only 22 years old, the defendant’s prior criminal conduct strongly indicates that he is likely to commit crimes in the future,” countered Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Jongbloed. The prosecutor noted that Hart already has arrests for an assault and robbery, stealing $1,636 in property and possessing a loaded .22 caliber.

This matter stems from an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA’s New Haven Task Force and the Greenwich Police Department. The Task Force includes DEA agents and task force officers from the North Haven, East Haven, West Haven, New Haven, Hamden, Branford, Ansonia, Derby and Meriden Police Departments.